The present invention relates generally to the area of knowledge transfer and more specifically to the evaluation and determination of an appropriate knowledge transfer method.
With the advancement of technology, there exists the further advancement in training end users to maximize use of the technology. Currently, training approaches for technology consist of several different available platforms. One common training approach is a classroom environment where a large number of users are trained simultaneously on a new technology, such as a new software application. This training approach can be expensive and time consuming based on various factors, such as the number of users to be trained, the user's existing knowledge base, the location of the training, the complexity of the technology, the user's level of use of the technology. In certain situations, the classroom training approach may not be the most practical.
Another training approach includes individual self-training through interactive guides. This self-training may be more effective for individualized learning, but it is often limited to existing learning templates. Also, the interactive guide approach does not allow for user feedback or direct questions, outside of a typical frequently asked questions template.
As recognized by one skilled in the art, there are numerous approaches to training users on new technology. Current techniques for training users on new technology consist of selecting a knowledge transfer operation, e.g. training approach, without assessing the benefits and limitations of the selected approach. Most often, the knowledge transfer operation is based on previous knowledge transfer operations and existing systems. For example, if a customer has a computer training facility, the customer is likely to use the training facility for the knowledge transfer operation based on having the facilities, without assessing the effectiveness of this knowledge transfer operation.
When a customer invests in a new technology, the customer must also invest a significant amount of resources to the training of the users on this technology. The training expenses include lost employee time and related costs for the knowledge transfer operations. For example, using a central training facility may require users to travel, thereby incurring travel expenses in addition to employee time, expenses associated with paying a trainer and maintenance of the training facility. Therefore, when a customer uses a particular knowledge transfer operation, if this approach is not the most beneficial approach, the customer stands to lose not only expenses on the implementation of the knowledge transfer operation, but further expenses due to follow-up requirements if users do not fully understand the new technology. Also, the customer will incur expenses from lost productivity as users struggle to utilize the new technology on a going forward basis.
Customers seeking to implement knowledge transfer operations for new technology should seek to utilize the most effective knowledge transfer operation. There currently does not exist an approach to determining the best knowledge transfer approach for customer based on the customer's knowledge transfer requirements. As each user training approach has benefits and limitations and the different knowledge transfer operations work better for different training approaches, there exists a need for determining which knowledge transfer operation is most effective for each different knowledge transfer scenario.